Seller-side surveys
The seller has signed the terms of the survey you are paying for. Does that signature make them a second client?
No, the seller's signature on the terms of the survey you are paying for does not make them a second client. A second client exists only if the firm agrees that both of you are clients. Signing a page, or being invited to sign, does not by itself add the seller to the instruction. The report is for the client named in the terms. Unless the firm has named both, the buyer who paid remains the client the report was written for.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Sellers are sometimes asked to sign for access, for a licence to publish, or because a form was shared by mistake. None of those gestures is the same as the firm accepting two clients. Client status is what the terms say and what the firm agrees. If the terms name you, a signature by the seller underneath a visiting arrangement does not rewrite that. Do not assume you now share reliance, or that the seller can instruct changes, because ink was added.
Read the terms for the client name, and ask the firm in writing if anyone other than you is a client. If they say no, believe that. If they say both of you are clients, then the terms should say so plainly. Until that agreement exists, do not tell the seller they can rely on your report as their own, and do not take their signature as that agreement. The instruction stays with the client the firm has actually named.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Who is named as the client in the terms you are working to?
- Has the firm agreed that the seller is a client, or only seen a signature?
- Would a second client need to be named before the report is relied on by them?
What are the typical next steps?
- Check who the terms name as the client.
- Ask the firm whether it has agreed the seller is also a client.
- Do not treat the seller's signature alone as creating a second client.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the seller paid half, are they a client?
Not unless the firm agrees they are. Who handed over money is not the same as the client named in the terms. Ask the firm before you assume a second client.
Can the seller tell the surveyor to delete a paragraph?
Only if the firm treats them as a client with that authority. A signature on your terms does not, by itself, give them your instruction.